Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

I don't expect my final exam results to be great this time, but they can't be worse than the ones I got before summer vacation, otherwise I won't feel like I can have a good New Year when I go home.

Around noon, after he and Hu Tao had lunch in the cafeteria, they took a walk on campus to digest their food. Suddenly, he saw Youjia, who looked somewhat conflicted and unwilling, walking alone, taking two steps and then stopping, heading towards the club building.

Hu Tao, who still liked to walk with her hands behind her back, asked in surprise, "What's wrong with Youjia? It's like you're going to a place you really don't want to go to, or doing something you really don't want to do."

Kotegawa hummed in response after three seconds: "Her club had a party and invited her to attend, but she was too embarrassed to refuse."

"The Ghost Stories Club?" Hu Tao thought for a moment, even more surprised: "This dangerous club still exists?"

Last time, the Exorcism Club took over the exorcism task from the Ghost Stories Club. I thought the club would be disbanded after that.

"Ghost stories are one of the most popular and enduring topics not only in schools but also in society." Kotegawa recalled what Fujiwara-sensei had said and told her, "Many students even use whether a school has a ghost story club as a reference for whether or not to apply... For example, Yuka, so how could it be canceled? At most, the members at that time would be punished."

“Hmm, that’s certainly true…” Hu Tao agreed with this reasoning.

……

On the other side, Yuka, who had been struggling with her decision the whole way, finally arrived at the basement of the club building. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar basement corridor and the rows of pale white incandescent light tubes, she subconsciously felt a tightness in her chest.

She suddenly remembered that she had claustrophobia and was not good at coming to places where she couldn't see the sunlight or breathe fresh air.

Even when I came to the club in the past, it was only to read ghost stories at the small branch near the library. To be honest, I've never really been to the club headquarters.

She clutched her chest, feeling a strange sense of relief. Well, now she had a reason not to attend the club gathering. But since she was already here, wouldn't it be better to go and explain in person?

Wouldn't it be more sincere to offer an explanation before leaving than to make a phone call?

But I really don't want to go... I heard from Kotegawa that they only use candles inside and don't turn on the lights.

Looking at the clubhouse entrance, which was only about ten meters away, she hesitated again.

After hesitating for about a minute, her eyes suddenly hardened.

It's decided! I'll go back and make the call! If it really doesn't work out, I can quit the club! Anyway, as long as I have ghost stories to read, it doesn't matter whether I join the club or not.

She came to her senses, then turned and left.

But as soon as she turned around, she was nearly scared to death by the person standing behind her.

A piercing scream echoed down the corridor for a long time.

Yujia clutched her heart, looking at the other person with a mixture of shock and anger. Then, her almond-shaped eyes widened as she glared at the short-haired girl with bangs: "Why are you standing behind me!"

The short-haired girl with bangs stared intently at her. Just when Yujia was about to think she was hallucinating, her eyeballs suddenly split in two, and she opened a scarlet mouth full of jagged teeth: "Yujia, where are you going? We're all waiting for you..."

Yuka, who was almost scared out of her wits, felt a surge of excitement upon hearing that familiar voice, which caused her blood pressure to spike and she fainted.

The gate of the Ghost Stories Club had transformed into a black vortex, from which layers of eerie voices echoed: "We're waiting for you, we're waiting for you..."

The short-haired girl grinned, slowly raising her hand to grab Youjia's face.

But at that moment, a milky white halo suddenly bloomed from Youjia's collar, and then a huge demonic spirit resembling a mantis blocked Youjia's way, letting out a sharp screech at the girl.

At the same time, Kotegawa, who had just finished using the restroom and was about to return to work, suddenly changed his expression, his face darkening. He took a step forward, and his figure dissipated into clouds of mist.

Chapter 44 Nishiino Station

When Kotegawa's figure reappeared, he only saw a pitch-black vortex that had almost vanished into nothingness.

A faint hissing sound came from within, and he transformed into mist once more, but he was still a step too late.

His face instantly turned ashen, and his imposing aura filled the entire corridor. Rows of incandescent light bulbs could not withstand the pressure and burst open all at once, while the glass in the doors and windows also made a crisp shattering sound.

He kicked open the door of the exorcism society, and inside, students were lying all over the floor.

For a fleeting moment, he really wanted to set those bastards on fire and send them all to hell. They were curious about ghost stories, weren't they? Well, let them become ghost stories then, so he could study himself all day long!

He took out his phone and, while remaining calm, told Fujiwara-sensei what had happened. He also called Ishikawa Yasuhiro, asking for his help as well.

Three minutes later, Fujiwara-sensei, whose face was equally ashen, arrived hastily with Ichijo Shizuka and other teachers.

Fujiwara-sensei still had a wet coffee stain on the front of her shirt, clearly shocked by the news.

He looked at the ground, his face growing even uglier. He was truly anxious and angry, but given the current situation, he could only treat the students first before discussing anything else.

The teachers started carrying the students out, and Shizuka Ichijo silently helped. With Kotegawa there, she didn't need to show off.

Kotegawa didn't leave; he was waiting for Ishikawa Yasuhiro.

Two teachers were very dissatisfied with the notification to the Special Affairs Department. They felt that such matters should be left to the school to handle, and that the involvement of the Special Affairs Department would only escalate the situation and have a negative impact on various aspects of the school.

Kotegawa ignored them, but Fujiwara-sensei seemed to have found a way to vent her anger, scolding the two teachers with a voice three times louder than usual: "Is this something you should be worrying about? You're the chairpersons?"

A little over ten minutes later, a special operations vehicle with its siren flashing pulled into the school. Ishikawa Yasuhiro, dressed in uniform and accompanied by his assistant and two subordinates, arrived. As soon as he entered, he asked Kotegawa, "How do I need your cooperation?"

"Find out all the movements of those students who were just sent to the hospital over the past three days, as well as their homes," Kotegawa said seriously. "There must be clues in there. Find reliable people."

Ishikawa Yasuhiro turned to his assistant and said, "Call Section 4 and ask for their assistance! Also, please ask Mr. Masai to come over. Everyone else, please leave here!"

This time he was referring to the teachers standing to the side, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The investigation began and proceeded in an orderly manner.

Kotegawa was anxious, but he could only wait silently.

Ishikawa Yasuhiro lit a cigarette and asked a puzzling question: "Why did that monster specifically choose the Honba family's daughter? What was its motive? Don't worry, let's wait for the students to wake up."

Kotegawa replied softly, "It wasn't that it specifically chose Yuka. It's probably because when the monster was about to attack Yuka, it was repelled by the protective demon spirit. But after it escaped, the demon spirit dragged Yuka along in pursuit..."

Ishikawa Yasuhiro paused in his smoking motion, instinctively touching his chest, and lowered his voice in shock: "That strong?"

Kotegawa shook his head: "Actually, it only has the power of three layers of the original body. However, to condense the essence of a yokai, it must be a yokai of at least [Difficulty Level Six] or higher. If it is a weak yokai, it still has a good protective effect."

Difficulty level six? That's an unattainable number!

Even a standard "Difficulty Level 5" is enough to cause some trouble in Tokyo. "Difficulty Level 6" is even more formidable, like the Five-Eyed Rat Man from back in the day, who reigned supreme for several years before Kotegawa arrived in Tokyo! And then there's "Difficulty Level 7," like the previous disasters, which even dared to storm the Special Division's gates...

He touched a hard pendant on his chest; it was also the spirit of a demon, once at least a demon of [Difficulty Level Six]...

"Do you have a lot of this kind of thing?" For some reason, he asked this question subconsciously.

Kotegawa shook his head.

Upon hearing his denial, Ishikawa Yasuhiro subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Kotegawa was indeed still the kind and gentle boy he knew.

Kotegawa said, "It was too difficult to kill the Demon King last time, and we couldn't leave behind much of the demon's essence."

Ishikawa Yasuhiro was stunned, his gaze momentarily lost in thought.

Where did all these powerful monsters with difficulty levels six and seven come from? Hasn't everything been peaceful lately?

Just as he was questioning the world, the intelligence officer in charge of the investigation came out. He was wearing gloves and carrying a stack of documents. He walked over and said directly, "Section Chief Ishikawa, we've found a rather suspicious place. It's a place that all the students on the list have been to. There were maps and fragments of project proposals in the trash can..."

He handed the stack of papers to Ishikawa Yasuhiro, who glanced at them and, upon seeing the words "Nishino San Station," couldn't help but gasp and curse, "What a bunch of fearless brats!"

He handed all the information to Kotegawa, pointed to the map and said, "Nishiino San Station is something else! It's been a famous haunted place for a long time. It's said that every night a ghost train passes through this place and takes lost people to the land of the dead... How dare these little ghosts go here? Didn't the school give them any safety lectures?"

Kotegawa looked around and asked the specialist next to him, "Is this the only place?"

"Yes, according to the intelligence sent back by the Fourth Division, there is a 90% probability that it is this place," the commissioner replied quite frankly.

Kotegawa nodded silently, thanked him, said goodbye to Ishikawa Yasuhiro, and took his leave.

He didn't know where Youjia was, but at least he had a direction to investigate. Time was of the essence; saving lives was the priority, and he couldn't worry about anything else.

As for the school, Fujiwara-sensei and the others will definitely impose extremely severe punishment, and the Kaidansha (ghost story club) will probably be disbanded.

He went home, changed his clothes, and put all the longswords in his bedroom into the [Impermanence Domain]. His figure disappeared again, heading towards the suburbs where Nishiino Station was located.

If we can't find Youjia, we'll slaughter our way through the Ghost Kingdom!

Nishiino Station is located in the westernmost part of Tokyo, in a desolate area that has long been abandoned and off-limits to pedestrians. The area is full of warning signs from the Special Branch and large holes in the wire mesh that have been cut with pliers.

There's no way around it; this godforsaken place is impossible to monitor around the clock, and there are always daring adventurers, bounty hunters, and reckless young punks like the Ghost Stories Society.

Kotegawa put on his protective gloves, felt the sharp edges of the wire mesh, stepped over the thick layer of leaves, and strode into the silent depths of the desolate forest.

Chapter 45 Driving

Nishiino Station is located halfway up a hill, about three meters above the ground. On one side is a long, dark tunnel, and on the other side are rusty rails hanging in mid-air.

This is an abandoned tram station, marked with a prominent red skull warning icon on satellite maps, indicating it is a "no-go zone".

Forty or fifty years ago, this place was flat land. However, after an earthquake, the terrain changed. Engineers tried to repair it several times, but they were always unsuccessful. Then one night, thick, dark fog emerged from the depths of the tunnel, which attracted the attention of the Onmyoji and the priests. After several unsuccessful attempts, the high priest consulted the gods and, after learning the problem, simply gave up.

Over the years, the humans who have come here are either bounty hunters looking to make a fortune or people with an insatiable curiosity. In any case, there are related incident reports every year.

Kotegawa looked up at the abandoned station, which was covered by grass and leaves, and could still vaguely see traces of paint on the broken walls.

However, if there's anything unusual about this place, it's just that it's too quiet. Perhaps we can only see its true face at night.

He jumped onto the tracks, glanced down at the ground, and walked a few steps toward the collapsed station, which was now only half-remains. After looking around, he turned his gaze to the dark station tunnel ahead. The other end of the tunnel had long been buried in a mound of earth, but whether the tunnel had an end or not has always been a subject of debate and controversy. As a result, it has become one of the most popular sources of material for various creators. Whether it is a TV series or a novel, as long as it involves horror elements, it is always inseparable from "Nishino Station".

It was still early before nightfall, so he didn't wait until evening and transformed into clouds, surging into the tunnel.

The tunnel reeked of a nauseating stench. He held his breath and used only his eyes to perceive the surroundings. The first half of the tunnel was ordinary and empty, but the section buried in the mound immediately became cold and gloomy, and it continued to extend diagonally downwards.

Kotegawa felt inexplicably that this place looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

But he certainly had never been here before, and it was definitely not a connection he made from watching TV shows or reading novels.

He thought for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so he continued to delve deeper until he found a tram bus that was completely unrecognizable. The bus was rusted beyond recognition and severely corroded by moisture, with only a thin layer of sheet metal remaining.

Kotegawa raised his eyebrows, revealing his figure. He stood in front of the car and looked it up and down for a while.

Before he came here, he remembered that Ishikawa Yasuhiro seemed to have said something about trains running late at night.

Is this the one?

He walked around the area once, his gaze finally settling on the driver's seat.

A monster the size of a toad, but with fat ears and a big head, was fast asleep with its belly exposed.

He paused, turned around, walked to the bus door, got on, sat in the passenger seat, and knocked on the window.

The monster, whose sweet dream had been disturbed, struggled to open his eyelids, but when he realized that a human was looking down at him from above, he instinctively jumped up, drool dripping from his mouth.

Kotegawa also grinned, his rising imposing aura directly overwhelming him.

The monster, which had just regained its energy, was instantly crushed and collapsed, with tiny blood vessels bursting all over its body.